Apocalyptic Would Be Accurate
by lovergirl85
Summary: Part 3. Newt finally tells Pentecost about Hilda. Oddly enough, he is not pleased.


To say that Marshall Pentecost was angry would be a massive understatement. Apocalyptic might be a more accurate term. Newton was trying to hunch in on himself, looking as if he were trying to disappear into the chair. It wouldn't surprise Hermann if that was what he was actually trying to do. In Newton's defense, Pentecost had been yelling for the past fifteen minutes. Hermann was certain that if the Marshall had been permitted to walk, he would be up and pacing around the room. As it were, he had to content himself with louder volume and smacking the desk to emphasize his point while Herc Hansen stood behind him with his arms crossed and a heavy scowl fixed on his face.

" – and to know that you would _willingly_ put this entire base in danger so that you could screw around –"

All right, that was enough. Newton may have acted foolishly and impulsively but Hermann knew that if Newton thought there was actually any danger to the base or the world, he would have had Hilda put down. He wouldn't have enjoyed it and it would most likely be the hardest thing he'd ever have done. But he'd have done it. Hermann tell that through their connection.

Hermann cleared his throat pointedly and Pentecost and Hansen both turned to face him. Newt was focused intensely on the floor and Hermann tried to ignore the feelings of misery coming through the ghost drift and tried not to think of the havoc Hilda was no doubt wreaking on their lab in response. Instead, he looked at Pentecost's face and knew he had one shot at this.

"Marshall Pentecost, Dr. Geiszler has acted very foolishly. There is no denying this. However, I have been observing him and Hi – the Kaiju, and based on what I have seen I do not believe it to be a threat to the base. Or the rest of the planet." Unless having your desk knocked over in an enthusiastic game of fetch was a serious threat. Hermann somehow seriously doubted that, though.

Pentecost looked as though he were at least considering Hermann's words, which was good. Hermann pressed on.

"In the short time the Kaiju has been with us, Dr. Geiszler has made a number of discoveries." Here, Hermann stopped, waiting for Newton to pick up. Unfortunately, Newton looked as though he were completely incapable of responding and was simply waiting for the storm to blow over. Hermann rolled his eyes mentally smacked Newton's leg not-so-subtly with his cane. Newton jumped and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Your findings, you twat," Hermann hissed. For a moment, Newt stared at him, not comprehending. Hermann hit him with his cane again.

That seemed to do the trick. Newt flailed a moment, untangling himself from his hunched position and focused on Hansen and Pentecost.

"The Kaiju –" he began, going for professional after his lapse.

"What did you name it, Dr. Geislzer?" Pentecost interrupted.

"Er…what?" Newton blinked.

"What is its name?" Pentecost repeated, sounding short, but at least he wasn't yelling.

"Oh, uh, Hilda. Her name is Hilda," Newt answered. Pentecost nodded and Newton took that as his cue to continue.

"Anyway, starting from the very beginning when…Hilda first started living here – " Newton faltered at Pentecost's glare and hurried on. " – The first question was, naturally –"

"What does she eat, I hope," Herc interrupted.

"Actually, that was about fifth on the list," Hermann muttered.

"Both of you," Pentecost rumbled and Herc and Hermann fell silent under his reprimanding gaze. Newt waited a moment before continuing.

"How big is she going to get?" Newt stood up and turned to the side, as though expecting his chalkboard or lab table to be there. He paused for a moment, visibly surprised, before turning back to the Marshall and his second. "Now, when you look at the DNA of the Kaiju they are all exactly the same. They're clones, right?" He didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Right. So what is the point of allowing a Kaiju to get pregnant? Well, there is none. So I thought maybe instead of Hilda being an actual baby, she was in place to collect samples, so to speak."

"Get the point, Dr. Gleiszer," Pentecost snapped. Newt, sensing that Pentecost was rapidly reaching the end of his rope, wisely decided not to make a face or a comment.

"So I took a sample of Hilda's blood to test her DNA. If she was sent to only collect samples, her DNA would be exactly the same." He looked at Pentecost and Herc, looking for all the world as though they were supposed to guess where this was going. Herc could take a guess, but he wasn't going to help the little shit out here. Pentecost probably could as well, but he was thinking along the same lines as Herc.

"Doctor…" Pentecost trailed off warningly. Newt took the hint.

"Her DNA was just a little bit different. Hilda really is a real life, actual…baby Kaiju." Newt sounded like even he couldn't quite believe what had just come out of his mouth and he'd had a few weeks to get used to the idea.

"So how big is she going to get?" Herc demanded gruffly.

"Honestly, I'd be surprised if she got any taller than a semi-trailer. She's not going to be very big." He paused. "Comparatively. Her DNA, in addition to being different, is substantially weaker, for lack of a better description, than her parents' DNA."

"Dr. Gottlieb, has the…Kaiju demonstrated any violent behavior?"

"I wouldn't call it violent so much as protective and clingy," Hermann answered carefully.

"Clingy." Pentecost's voice was flat.

"Hilda has imprinted on Dr. Gleiszer. Much like a duck. About two weeks ago, I made what appeared in her mind to be a violent move towards his person. She threw herself over him physically and growled, but no other move to harm me."

"Hilda's still learning to differentiate between emotions in memories. I guess they're a bit more confusing when she feels them second-hand through memories instead of first hand through me," Newt chimed in.

"So…can I just shoot the damn thing?" Herc demanded, getting fed up with the talking. Newt made a strangled noise in his throat and an abortive movement, as if he could actually stop Herc making good on his thinly veiled threat. Herc glared. Newt glared back. It was a fairly impressive glare considering most of the time Newt looked like a wet cat when he was angry.

"Stand down, Hansen." Pentecost, God help them, looked almost _amused._ "Dr. Gleiszer, what have you been feeding…Hilda?" Newt swallowed. The fact that Pentecost was using Hilda's name was actually more terrifying than he had thought it would be.

"Uh…fish," Newt answered. "Blended into shakes." Herc actually gagged a little. Newt made a face. "Yeah, it doesn't smell very pretty, believe me." Pentecost raised a brow.

"Fish shakes? Does she not have teeth?" Newt shrugged, a jerky, unsure motion.

"No," he answered. "Not yet. She'll start teething at some point. And uh, hopefully, her hind legs will start growing in at some point too. The joints are there, but not the legs."

"Does Hilda hunt?" Now Herc sounded genuinely curious. Newt shook his head.

"No, I'm still trying to work out how to teach her that." Hermann manfully managed to contain the snort that threatened to emerge at the image of Newt trying to teach Hilda how to pounce. Newt glared at him, which meant he hadn't done as a good a job as he had hoped but Hermann didn't particularly care. He resolved to send a message to Vanessa asking for the video recorder later. Under no circumstances was he missing this.

"How are you getting the fish for her, then?" Herc demanded. "You don't bloody fish or hunt!"

"Uh…Hannibal Chau is providing the fish," Newt muttered. Pentecost's mouth quirked.

"Hannibal Chau."

"Yes…"

"Is feeding the Kaiju that ate him." Now Newt looked really uncertain. It was difficult to read Pentecost's expression.

"…yes?" It came out sounding like a question.

Hermann and Newt could honestly say that was the first time they had ever been laughed out of Pentecost's office.


End file.
